Gov + Legislature
In New Jersey, local lobbying goes undisclosed
Municipal officials in towns across New Jersey are facing a press of lobbying over local marijuana rules, but those influence efforts will largely go undisclosed. New Jersey’s lobbying regulations only cover influence at the state level and toward the general public. Lobbying targeting smaller units of government, like those that exist on the local and […]
Calls grow for N.J. to use federal aid to replenish unemployment fund
A growing, bipartisan chorus of lawmakers and business groups are calling on New Jersey to use federal stimulus dollars to replenish the state’s unemployment trust fund. The pleas for help came as the state wrestles with how to restore the fund, which lost millions as jobless claims skyrocketed during the pandemic. The fund needs a […]
Businesses pray for hiring boom after fed unemployment benefits expire
Nancy Mercurio is looking forward to Sept. 6. Mercurio, who owns a Haddon Heights dog sitting business, brought back most of her employees when appointments resumed in June 2020. A few didn’t want to come back, she said, so she’s had three positions open for months. The responses she’s gotten aren’t encouraging. Some interviewees don’t […]
Progressive activists call for investigation into senator for alleged ‘no-show job’
Sen. Nicholas Scutari, who was the subject of several investigations into his job as Linden’s prosecutor, is facing intensifying criticism, now from a group of progressive Democrat activists who want the state’s Joint Legislative Committee of Ethical Standards to probe Scutari’s actions. One of the activists behind the ethics probe demand, Sue Altman, director of […]
Growing chorus of immigrant advocates urge Murphy to sign bill banning ICE contracts
It’s been six weeks since immigration advocacy groups began urging Gov. Phil Murphy to sign the bill on his desk banning federal immigration detention center contracts. Now, those calls are mounting — even coming from across the Hudson River — as progressive groups press the Democrat to make New Jersey the fifth state to ban […]
Major police discipline now publicly reported in N.J. — but is it enough?
Monday was supposed to be the start of a “new chapter” in police accountability in New Jersey. That was the deadline the state Attorney General’s Office set for the state’s 500-plus law enforcement agencies to publicly report major police disciplinary actions. But the disclosures contain scant details. And some stragglers haven’t yet gotten their reports […]
Murphy: Decision on school vaccine mandate to come before end of August
Gov. Phil Murphy expects to issue guidance on immunization requirements in schools before the end of August, he said at a press briefing Monday. “My guess is in the next two or three weeks, we’ll have something that we’ll be able to put out there,” Murphy said, adding his administration is working on the issue. […]
Hate crimes registry plan finds opposition from civil rights advocates
Civil rights advocates are voicing opposition to a proposal to create a registry for New Jersey residents convicted of hate crimes. The plan, announced last week by a trio of lawmakers in the seventh legislative district, would create a public online registry containing the names, addresses, license plate numbers, and various other descriptors for New […]
Announcement of mask mandate in N.J. schools greeted with cheers, boos
New Jersey teachers and students getting ready for school this fall will have to add one more thing to their back-to-school lists: masks. New Jersey will reinstate its mask mandate for all K-12 students, teachers, and staff, regardless of vaccination status, for the upcoming school year, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday. “I want as much […]
Feds make deal with N.J. over voter law violation
County and state transportation services for residents with disabilities will be required to offer voter registration services after New Jersey reached a consent decree with national authorities over violations of the National Voter Registration Act, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced Thursday. Under the agreement, Access Link and Community Transportation — both transit services geared […]
In Allen, Ciattarelli finds a champion for women
Diane Allen was already a trailblazer when she first ran for the Legislature in 1995. Allen, now Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli’s pick for lieutenant governor, had given up her role as a news anchor at a Philadelphia-based CBS news affiliate a year earlier after reaching a settlement with the broadcaster over age and gender […]
As eviction moratoriums change, who is protected in N.J.?
Moratoriums and executive orders put in place to keep renters in their homes during the coronavirus pandemic are expiring across the country while health concerns and high unemployment rates continue. But even as the Centers for Disease Control reinstates a 60-day eviction ban for parts of the country — a ban President Joe Biden has […]